Bag and handle means



June 1969 G. VANDE SANDE 3,451,613

BAG AND HANDLE MEANS Filed Feb. 19, 1968 Sheet 3 of 2 INVENTOR GEORGEVANDE SANDE 34 BY #241 PM MWJZMV ATTORNEY June 24, 1969 G vANDE SANDEBAG AND HANDLE MEANS Sheet Filed Feb. 19, 1968 INVENTOR GEORGE VANDESANDE /M, 7%: (Am LEM,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,451,613 BAG AND HANDLE MEANS GeorgeVande Sande, Bethesda, Md., assignor to CTP Industries, Inc., Brooklyn,N.Y. Filed Feb. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 706,486 Int. Cl. B65d 33/06 U.S. Cl.229-54 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to areusable plastic bag, and in particular, recloseable handle means forsuch a bag. The handle members are of a partially overlappingconfiguration wherein each of the handle members forms a portion of thehandle, allowing the handle members to form a complete handle when themembers are locked together but enabling the handle members to be easilyseparated by moving the non-overlapping portions in opposite directionsto unlock or open the bag.

Background of the invention Reusable bags formed of thermoplasticmaterial have found wide acceptance for the retailing of goods. Suchbags may be attractively decorated and are capable of high volume, lowcost production. Quite commonly, such bags are printed on one or bothside walls in a decorative fashion, and include handle members which aredesigned to be closed together with integral locking attachments toprovide an attractive, reusable and inexpensive bag. Some of the priorart bags include a combination handle and closure means for the bagwhich makes it possible to provide a tight closure so that its contentscannot readily be lost, nor can dirt and moisture readily enter the bag.

An example of such bags is illustrated in U.S. Patent 3,310,224, issuedto L. K. Laguerre. This patent discloses a unitary handle and closuremeans formed so as to comprise two substantially congruent strips eachhaving a length substantially equaling the width of the front and rearbag walls at the mouth of the bag. The two strips normally overlie eachother and are joined at their extreme ends by means which are integralwith both strips, and hold the strips closely adjacent each other andparallel to each other at their ends. Because of the parallelrelationship of the ends of the strips and because of the resilience ofthe material which forms the unitary closure means, the handle membersresist any forces tending to separate or open the handles. To open thesebags, it is necesary to grasp the two handle portions with the right andleft hands, respectively, and separate the two handle portions bypulling in opposite directions. Quite often, a securing or locking meansis employed which tends to hold the two coextensive handle portiontogether, thereby effectively maintaining the tight closure at the mouthof the bag. In its most practical form, such a fastening means maycomprise a small protuberance of one member which frictionally engagesan indentation or recess in the opposite member as is illustarted in theLaguerre patent 3,310,224. To open the bag, which is provided with sucha closure means, it is again only necessary to separate the two handleportions, but now somewhat more force is required to accomplish thisbecause the fastener must first be unsnapped.

Extensive experience has shown, however, that with the types of bagconstruction described thus far, it is often difiicult to initiallyseparate the two members so that the handles may be grasped for pullingthe locking mechanism apart. Due to the resilience of the handlemembers, and the closing effect of the securing or locking means, or fora variety of other reasons, the handles may tend to cling "ice togetherrequiring that the user separate the handle portions initially with hisfingernails before the handles may be grasped to pull the bag apart.

Summary of the invention It is therefore an object of this invention toprovide a plastic bag or container with a combination closure and handlemeans and a novel handle configuration that allows the bag handles toseparate easily and quickly to open the bag.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel, twopart handlewhich may or may not be formed of unitary construction, with partiallycoextensive handle members, wherein each of the handle portions has anoncoextensive portion that may readily be grasped to separate the baghandles.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an integrally moldedflange portion to provide protection against pinching of the fingers,and provide greater surface area for distributing the load whilecarrying the bag.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel aligning meansfor aligning the closing members of a selflocking handle to facilitateits closing together and lockmg.

Brief description of the drawings In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the handles in a spaced-apartrelationship;

FIGURE 2 i a side or plan view of the handles with the members joined orlocked together;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the interlocking means used to join thehandles together and taken along the section line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the sealing and aligning members whichfacilitate locking the bag together, and provide a positive seal againstdirt and moisture and is taken along the section line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of an alternate form of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line 6-6 ofFIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged view of an end portion of the handle member ofthe embodiment of either of FIG- URES 1 or 5.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments In accordance with theinvention, as illustrated in FIG- URE l, the members generally indicatedat 8 and 9 are the handle members shown in a spaced-apart relationship.Each of the members have partially coextensive handle portions 13 and 14which are coextensive over a small end portion of the handle member, butare substantially noncoextensive over their remaining portions 52 and53. The base of each of these members is attached to an elongate stripmember 11 or 12 shown in a spaced relationship in FIGURE 1 but whichcooperate to define a U-shaped handle, when placed with their endportions 13 and 14 juxtaposed to close the mouth of the bag as in FIGURE2.

In the prior art devices, which have entirely coextensive handleportions, it is necessary to grasp the two handle portions with onesright and left hands, respectively, and separate the two handle portionsby pulling them apart. When these handles are equipped with anintegrally molded fastening means, it becomes more difficult to open thebag, as somewhat more force is required to unsnap the fasteners. Boththe fasteners and the natural resilience of the handle members cause thehandles to cling to one another. In order to open the handle portions,it is generally necessary for the user to insert his fingernails to prythe two apart at the top in a somewhat awkward fashion.

In the subject invention, however, it is only necessary to grasp handleportions 52 and 53 and pull in opposite directions, and the handles willsimply and easily separate, these handle portions being noncoextensivewith each other.

Thus, by means of the novel configuration illustrated in FIGURE 1, it ispossible to quickly and easily unsnap the handles, thereby unlocking thefastening means and separating the handles to open the bag portion. Thismay be done more quickly, more easily, and efiiciently with the handleconfiguration of the subject invention than with the previous prior artdevices.

Each of the handle members 8 and 9 is provided with lockingprotuberances 16 and 17 on one end of the elongated strip portions 11and indentations 18 and 19 on the other end of the strip 11. Theopposing handle is equipped with recesses 20 and 21 on one portion andprotuberances 22 and 23 on the other portion. The cr section of atypical type of engaging or locking member is illustrated in FIGURE 3,in which the protuberance 16 is molded slightly larger than the opening20 in whi h the protuberance is placed. The frictional engagement ofthese two members thereby hold the handle members 3 and 9 together.

To facilitate the mating of the protuberance with its adjoining recess,aligning members 25 and 26 are aligned in each handle portion withadjoining recesses 27 and 28 on the oppositely disposed handle portions.The configuration of these aligning members is best illustrated in FIG-URE 4 wherein a bevelled protuberance 25 is shown engaging recessportion 28. It should be pointed out that engaging protuberance 25 isgenerally longer than the protuberance 16 illustrated in FIGURE 3 sothat in mating the handles together, the handles are brought togetherand slid until the bevelled protuberance 25 engages recess 28 in whichcase the handle members are pressed firmly together forcing the enlargedprotuberance 16 into recess 20, and thereby locking the handle portionstogether. Once the handles are closed together, the bevelledprotuberances provide a dust seal to prevent the entry of dust or excessmoisture between the handles. As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the jointshown in dotted lines at 26 and 28 extends along substantially theentire length of elongated strip members 11 and 12, thereby providing anearly continuous dust seal for the bag.

Integrally molded with handle portions 8 and 9 are traverse webs orflanges 31 and 32. These webs are also patrially coextensive so thatwhen the handle portions are brought together in a locked relationship,a continuous traverse web extends over the entire upper portion of thehandle, thereby protecting the fingers against pinching between members13 and 14 and distributing the load carried in the bag over a wide areaof the fingertips, rather than over a rather narrow portion as in theprevious prior art devices. Flanges 31 and 32 also have the effect ofimparting greater rigidity to the handle members 8 and 9, enabling themto be made economically of a light gauge plastic without having a flimsyappearance.

As best illustrated in FIGURE 6, traverse web portion 31 overhangs bothsides of handle 9 and end portion 13, the web forming a T-joint with thehandle. Traverse web 32 is similarly positioned on handle 8, and eachhandle is offset from the center of the traverse web enough to allow thewebs to mate at butt joint 54 (FIGURE 2) and form a smooth handle withaligned Webs.

In addition to the traverse web structure illustrated in the drawings,it would be possible to form a variety of matched joint configurationsat the web juncture in place of the butt joint configuration asillustrated in FIGURE 2.

In order to provide the necessary strength, engaging protuberances 33and 34 are mounted on the handle members to engage recesses 35 and 36.Thus, when locked together at their respective overlapping portions 13and 14, the handle members are able to support a great deal of weight,even though each is only partially coextensive with the other. Thetraverse webs 31 and 32 also help 4 in distributing the weight over theentire handle, avoiding an uneven displacement of stresses at areas 13and 14 which might otherwise tend to separate the handle members attheir juncture.

Spacing the protuberances and recesses alternately along the handleportions enables the locking members to retain their strength even ifone portion of the handle, or some of the protuberances should becomeworn through repeated usage. It should be understood that the male andfemale members or joints illustrated in FIG- URES 3 and 4 are onlyrepresentative of the many possible configurations which could be used.

Analternate construction for areas 13 and 14 of the handle members isillustrated in FIGURE 7. When snapped together, the end 56 of handleportion 13 butts tightly against recess 57. End 58 of member 14 fitsinto recess 59, in a similar manner, thereby forming a fitted lappedjoint and a continuous handle member with no overlapping edges.

In the preferred embodiment, the handle members are symmetrical aboutthe section line 6-6 shown in FIG- URE 2 with protuberances 16, 17 and25 formed on one side of section 6-6 and recesses 18, 19 and 27 formedin the other side. This enables the handles to be formed from a singlemold resulting in substantial savings due to the single moldingoperation. A reduction of inventory needed in manufacturing is possibleas it is no longer necessary to maintain two separate stocks ofsupplies, one for right handles and one for left and the molding costsare also substantially reduced as only one mold is necessary for bothhandle members.

The handles illustrated above in the preferred embodiment are mounted inthe mouth of a polyethylene or synthetic resinous bag, as shown inFIGURE 2. The handles are quite commonly heat-sealed as at 37 by theapplication of heat or high frequency dielectric energy. While thepreferred embodiment has been illustrated, it is considered to be withinthe scope of the invention to mount such handles on a paper or cloth bagand utilize adhesive or mechanical sealing means instead of heatseal 37.

An alternate form of the invention is illustrated in FIG- URE 5 whereinboth handle portions are formed out of a unitary block of syntheticresinous material. The advantages of using a unitary block of material,as opposed to two handle members, is discussed at length in the LaguerrePatent 3,310,224 mentioned previously. In this embodiment, the elasticmaterial at ends 38 and 39 tend to force the handle portions together,which would ordinarily make it necessary at times to resort to thefingernails to pry the handle portions apart. In this embodiment, thepartially coextensive handle members are highly desirable as they enablethe user to grip handle portions 40 and 41 with the right and left-handsrespectively and pull the handle apart, disengaging the locking membersillustrated at 42 and 43. The alternate form of the inventionillustrated in FIGURE 5 may also be provided with aligning members andlocking protuberances illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 and discussedpreviously.

As best illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, strip members 11 and 12 have arecessed area 60 on their lower edges. The surface of the recessedportion is knurled to provide a sealing surface for the heat seal 37illustrated in FIG- URES 2 and 6, as experience has shown that a moredesirable and long-lasting seal results from a knurled surface, asopposed to a smooth surface.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the traverse webs 31 and 32 extend backinwardly towards the center of the bandles ending over locking members17, 18, 21 and 22. Thus, when the areas 52 and 53 are grasped and pulledapart to open the bag, the webs 31 and 32 transmit the force backinwardly to open the inner locking members, whereas the natural flexingof the handle material will transmit force to the outer locking members.

The embodiment of FIGURE 5 requires that the handle members extend overthe entire length of the bag mouth, however it should be understood thatin the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1, the length of the handle doesnot always equal the bag mouth width. In certain types of bags, it mayeven be desirable to have a short handle and a wide bag mouth.

Having describe an improved plastic bag, and, particularly a novelhandle configuration and closure means therefor, it is to be understoodthat various modifications and alterations may be made to the specificform illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A carrying handle for bags, comprising:

(a) first and second elongated strip members coextensive with each otheralong the base of said handle;

(b) first and second substantially noncoextensive handle members, thefirst said handle member attached at its base to said first stripmember, and said second handle member attached at its base to saidsecond strip member in a spaced apart relationship with respect to saidfirst handle member, said first and second handle members being engagedtogether only at their ends to define an inverted U-shaped handle,

whereby the first and second elongated strip members may be pulled apartby disengaging the handle members at their extreme ends and pulling inopposite directions on said handle members.

2. A carrying handle for bags as claimed in claim 1, wherein each ofsaid handle members has an integrally molded flange extending around theinterior of said handle member, the flange molded on said first handlemember forming a matched joint with the flange molded on said secondhandle member, whereby a continuous protective flange is formed aroundthe interior of said handle when said handle members are engaged to eachother.

3. A carrying handle for bags as claimed in claim 1, wherein each ofsaid elongated strip members is provided with at least one fastenermeans, comprising first and second functionally engaging elementsrespectively located on facing surfaces of said elongated strips when inregister, for securing together said strips at at least one pointbetween their adjoining ends whereby said strip members may be fastenedtogether in a coextensive relationship.

4. A carrying handle for bags as claimed in claim 1, wherein said firstelongated strip member is provided with at least one elongated bevelledprotuberance, and said second elongated strip member defines anelongated bevelled recess in register with said elongated bevelledprotuberance, whereby the bevelled protuberance forms a seal with saidstrip defined recess when said elongated strip members are brought intoa coextensive relationship.

5. A carrying handle for bags as claimed in claim 1, wherein said firstand second handle members and said first and second elongated stripmembers are formed of a single unitary block of resilient, elastic,nonbrittle material.

6. In a bag having front and back walls formed of a thin film material,the improvement which comprises:

(a) closure means attached to the Walls of the bag in the plane of saidWalls at the mouth of the bag, said closure means being formed of aresilient, elastic, nonbrittle material, having a tensile strengthsubstantially greater than the Walls of the bag;

(b) said closure means comprising a first and second generallycoextensive elongated strips, normally overlying each other and having afirst and second substantially noncoextensive handle members formedtherewith, the first said handle member attached at its base to saidfirst strip member, and said second handle member attached at its baseto said second strip member in a spaced apart relationship with respectto said first handle member, said first and second handle members beingengaged together only at their extreme ends to define an invertedU-shaped handle; and

(c) at least one fastener means comprising a first and secondfunctionally engaging elements respectively located on facing surfacesof said strips when in register for securing together said strips at apoint between their adjoining ends.

7. A bag as claimed in claim 6, wherein additional means join said firstand second elongated coextensive strip members at each end, comprisingan end portion which is integral with both said strips, and normallymaintaining the adjoining ends of said strips in parallel relationship;said resilence of said material together with said parallel relationshipof the corresponding ends of said strips cooperating to maintain saidstrips normally closed parallel over their length thereby tending tomaintain the mouth of said bag closed and automatically bringing saidfirst and second engaging elements into alignment to thereby facilitatetheir engagement.

8. A bag as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first elongated stripmember and second elongated strip member defines an elongated bevelledrecess opposite from said elongated bevelled protuberance, whereby thebevelled protuberance forms a seal with said strip to define recess whensaid elongated strip members are brought into coextensive relationship.

9. In a handle and closure device adapted to be fitted in athermoplastic bag with the first and second elongated thermal stripmembers heat-welded along the two opposed edges of the opening of saidbag, wherein each of the strips has a centrally disposed looped grippinghandle formed integrally with said strip and extending laterally of theelongated strip member, the improvement which comprises; forming a firstpartially coextensive handle member on said first elongated stripmember, a second partially coextensive handle member on said secondelongated strip member, each handle member having a noncoextensiveportion, each handle member having engaging means mounted on itscoextensive portion to hold said handle members together, whereby saidhandle members and attached strip members may be disengaged or separatedby pulling in opposite directions on said noncoextensive portions.

10. A handle and closure device as claimed in claim 9, wherein saidfirst elongated strip member is provided with at least one elongatedbevelled protuberance, and said second elongated strip .member definesan elongated bevelled recess opposite from said elongated bevelledprotuberance, whereby the bevelled protuberance forms a seal with saidstrip defined recess when said elongated strip members are brought intoa coextensive relationship.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,140,038 7/ 1964 Laguerre 229-543,310,224 3/ 1967 Laguerre 229-54 3,339,823 9/1967 Nielsen 229-54DAXIIID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 15 0-12

